


Chasing Shadows

by PurpleArrowzandLeather



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hurt Peter Parker, I'm betting Hydra, Protective Loki (Marvel), Protective Tony Stark, i don't know what happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-05 12:57:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14619084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleArrowzandLeather/pseuds/PurpleArrowzandLeather
Summary: Peter Parker is kidnapped, and the people holding him, among others are waiting to see who comes to his rescue.





	Chasing Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or any of their faculties.  
> This story is incongruent with my other Marvel story aside from the fact that Thor and Loki are still living on Sakaar with their families. Other than that, we're pretending this exists out of any timelines.

          Peter sighs, twiddling his thumbs as he sits on the island near the door. He doesn't necessarily want to leave the apartment, but he'd rather do that than sit around. He decides that he needs a sandwich.

          He leaves a note for May, just in case he's not home before she gets off work. He quickly grabs his backpack and skips out the door. As he walks out the door, he notes that the street is so empty during the day. He shrugs, just pleased to be out of school for the day, even if it was unexpected. He barely makes it down the stairs and onto the sidewalk when someone slams straight into him. Peter stumbles, crashing to the ground.

          "Sorry, kid. Here."

          Peter groans, rubbing at his shoulder before taking the outstretched hand. As soon as he's on his feet, he thinks to thank them and something soft covers his mouth and nose. He squirms, but someone holds his arms. His backpack is ripped from his shoulders and tossed aside. His spider-sense screams in his skull too late, keeping Peter awake just long enough to realize that the street is still empty. He struggles, but his grip on his attacker's wrist gets weaker as he does. He can't hold his breath any longer and he's forced to breath in whatever is on the rag. A small helpless sound works its way out of his throat and he collapses, the darkness at the edges of his vision starting to crowd him. He whines as something cracks against the back of his skull to finish the job, since he is stubbornly refusing to stop fighting.

          He's barely hanging onto his last thread of consciousness as they throw him into the back of a car. The trunk lid slams down over him as he passes out. He only wakes when he's being hauled back out, his heavy limbs being tugged behind his back into a pair of handcuffs. Panic rises in his throat. His legs don't seem to be working. Peter stumbles as they pull him along, the new blindfold over his eyes making it impossible to tell where he's putting his feet. 

          His hair stands on end as the space around him shrinks down. He struggles against the many arms pushing him, but he can't do much.  _Not without flipping around the room like Spiderman._ He can hear voices murmuring up ahead of him and he wonders what's happening. 

          A door creaks open and he's tossed inside. He lands awkwardly on his left arm and winces as one of the men comes and hooks something to the cuffs around his wrists. Once the door slams shut behind them, Peter tries to get up. He gets to his knees and has to stop, his cuffs keeping him locked to the floor. He takes a few deep breaths to ease the pain in his shoulder.

          "Hello?"

          Peter freezes. "W-Who's there?"

          "I'm in the cell next to yours. My name is Deeks. Who are you?"

          "Peter."

          "Did you hear anything? Do you know why we're here?" 

          "No. Do you?"

          "I heard that they were setting a trap for the Avengers. Supposedly, Tony Stark has a soft spot for kids, and there's one from a high school somewhere who knows him. Is that you?"

          Peter fakes a shaky laugh, feeling that the question is a little too direct. "No. I wish, though, right?" 

          Deeks swears. "That kid is our only chance of getting out of here. They would come for him."

          Peter carefully lies back down on his side. "We just have to hope they come for us anyway."

          "Yeah." Deeks murmurs. "Right."

          "How long have you been in here, Deeks?"

          He doesn't get a chance to answer before Peter hears his cell door open again. His spider-sense is telling him to move, but there's no way he'd be able to move fast enough with his hands tied to the floor. He can hear Deeks yelling at them to leave him alone, but it does nothing to deter the boot that slams into his ribs. 

          They ask him questions that his skull is buzzing to hard to answer and the beating continues for another ten minutes. By the end of it, Peter is left on the floor, curled as much as he can be with just his legs to guard him. Tears running down his cheeks cut a trail through the crust of blood on his face. It's hard to breathe, and he can't think straight, so lays there shivering.

          "I di- I didn't know anything." he murmurs. 

          "Are you okay? Katie wants to know."

          Peter swallows. "I'm fine. How many of us are there in here?"

          "Just a few. The ones further down the hall won't know anything about this."

          Peter nods to himself, opening his eyes up a crack now that his blindfold is lying on the ground in front of him.  _Please, Mr. Stark._ _Come find us._

          He refuses to move, every muscle aching. Deeks doesn't say anything more, his mood too dark to even speak to Peter. Peter wishes he would. 

* * *

          "Sir, I believe there is something you should know about. I've been sifting through traffic footage and I found this on Mr. Parker's street."

          "Just a minute, J."

          "It's urgent, sir."

          Tony immediately drops his welding torch and flips the helmet off of his head. "What is it?" Jarvis puts it up on the wall and Tony has to stop himself from throwing a wrench at it. "His backpack is still on the street. Jarvis-" he cuts off as Peter goes down with a crack to the head. "I'm gonna kill them. Where are they?"

          "They disappeared in traffic."

          "How old is this footage?"

          "Nearly four hours."

          "Four hours?" Tony rubs a hand down his face. "Four hours. How did you lose them?"

          "Multiple vehicles with the same licence plate split off throughout the city."

          "Where was the original?"

          "It avoided traffic cameras."

          "Did you check the satellite?"

          "Of course, sir. We have no way of knowing where they've gone, and though Mr. Parker keeps the phone you gave him on his person, it appears the tracker is broken or blocked."

          Tony pulls at his hair with both hands, distress pouring out of his every fiber. He finally snaps and throws a lamp across the room. 

          "Perhaps there is someone who can help you track him."

          "Like who? Wanda and Vision are who knows where. Clint and Natasha are off on a mission. Steve dropped off the face of the earth like a week ago in search of gold or something. I have no idea. Bruce is a doctor, dammit, not a tracker. The Winter Flower is off killing people with paperclips. T'Challa is running a country." Tony breaks off, starting to panic. 

          "Sir, you are forgetting someone."

          "Who?"

          "The Odinsons, or perhaps one of them. You gave them a phone the last time they were here."

          Tony chews at his lips. "They're so.... destructive, though."

          "If I may, sir, they are destructive, but effective."

          Tony pulls out his phone, dialing Thor. "Do you think they even get a signal on Sakaar?"

          Before Jarvis can answer, the phone picks up. "Hello?"

          "Loki? Where's Thor?"

          "He's a little-" Loki grunts, as if someone hit him. "Stop that! Chloe, stop hitting your brother! Your father will not be pleased with this. Where is Jane?" Loki pauses to answer Tony. "Thor is preoccupied at the moment. Hilde! Val, can you get Hilde to help Tika off the chandelier? ALL OF YOU STOP RIGHT NOW!"

          Tony cringes away from Loki's yelling, but raises impressed brows as the room on the other end goes silent.

          Loki sighs. "Heimdall said something was wrong, but I haven't had a minute to check anything out."

          "You were coming anyway?"

          "He's only a child." Loki says gravely.

          Tony feels a very foreign clog of emotion in his chest. "Can you help me out?"

          "I will be there shortly."

          The light from the Bifrost flashes outside the window and Tony practically jumps out of it in his hurry. Loki is already battle ready, a dagger in one hand, his other reaching out to grip Tony's shoulder. 

          "Don't worry. We will find your son."

          Tony opens his mouth to remind him of the fact the Peter is not his kid, but...... Peter is his kid. "Where do we look first?"

          "Heimdall gave me coordinates, and a description of where he's being held. His only warning was to be careful." Loki glances down at Tony. "Is there a reason you called us and not some of your earth friends?"

          "They're all on mission."

          "Surely the life of your child is more important than some trip to the land of Oz?"

          Tony's breath stutters in his chest. "Did you just make a pop culture reference?"

          "I know more than you think, Tony."

          Tony blinks at him.  _He didn't call me 'Stark'. Is he sick?_

          Loki smirks at his confusion. "Come on. We are wasting valuable time."

          "Right." Tony activates his suit and Loki does the honors of sweeping them off to wherever they're going. Tony frowns as he sees the entrance. "It's underground. Of course it is."

          Loki looks at him sympathetically. "Old issues with deep dark places?"

          "Something like that."

          Before Tony reaches for the door, Loki stops him. "Look at the hinges."

          Tony takes a step back. "What?" 

          Loki summons light to his palm, since it is almost midnight, casting shadows over the door. It doesn't take a genius to see that the hinges have been tampered with.

          "Care to cut through it?"

          Tony nods. "Jarvis, run a scan on the door so I'm not playing with fire on the other side."

          "Yes, sir."

          His heads-up display comes up with a jarring amount of wiring on the other side. Tony sighs. "I guess we're going around."

          Loki shakes his head. "Too slow. Can you give me an idea of what it looks like inside?"

          "The safest distance from inside the door is about three and a half feet, but the hallway is barely that. I'd be lucky to get through there in my suit."

          "If you would so kindly turn sideways." Loki instructs.

          Tony doesn't balk at his order, only turning as Loki does. A squeezing sensation in his gut tells him that they're moving, and into a small space at that. He almost immediately gets claustrophobic, but he pushes it down. Peter needs him. 

          They travel along the skinny hallway, and he realizes how much smaller than Loki he is. Loki isn't all that large compared to Thor, but he's carefully picking his way along the tunnel to avoid hitting his head. When it branches off, Tony knows they're screwed. 

          "I'll take the left." Loki says, heading down the tunnel without a second of hesitation. 

          Tony shrugs. "I guess I'm going right. Man, this feels like a horror film."

          Meanwhile, Loki lights his way with green flames dancing around his fingertips. He finds another 'Y' split between a set of stairs and another corridor. Loki knows that if it were him, he'd go down with his captives. He travels lightly down the stairs, cloaking himself in darkness. There's a guard at the start of the next hallway and Loki snags his keys, walking straight past him. He pauses, unable to resist. 

          He laughs, letting his voice echo off the walls in the other direction. The guard flinches, clenching his hands around his weapon and taking a step in that direction. Loki smiles to himself, casting a shadow across the wall at the far end. Loki notes that it takes the guard a moment to decide whether the flee or follow. He follows. 

          Loki walks off in the other direction, stepping lightly and crouching down a little to keep out of sight of any other guards. He can hear a quiet murmuring now, not a voice he recognizes, but young nonetheless. 

          He reaches a cell door. Quietly unlocking it, he slips inside and closes the door most of the way behind him. 

          The voice stops and he can see a small form curled in the middle of the room. "Stay away from me." he hisses, but his voice is trembling.

          "I don't threaten." Loki whispers, crouching down behind the boy. "I'm here to help you."

          "W-Who are you?"

          "Loki."

          The boy is silent for a couple of moments. "Like, Thor's little brother?"

          Loki sighs heavily. "Yes, Thor's little brother."

          "Why are you helping me? I thought you were a bad guy." 

          Loki chuckles. "I am many things, but bad isn't one of them these days."

          "Still, why are you here?"

          Loki finally finds the lock for the cuffs and they click open. "We all have families to protect, and no child should be left in the dark."

          "You have family besides Thor?"

          Loki chuckles again, amused. "I'm married to a Valkyrie with four lovely demon children."

          "Awesome."

          The child brings a smile to Loki's face and he helps him up. They boy stumbles. "Easy. What's your name?"

          "My name is Colin."

          "Well, Colin, let's help who we can, hmm?"

          "Sounds good."

          "Stay close, and tread softly." Loki murmurs, closing the door behind him as they step into the hall.

          He pushes Colin back against the door as a guard walks right past them. Cloaking them, he searches other cells. When he finds another boy in a room two down from there, Loki stops. 

          "Colin, I'm going to teleport you outside. When you get there, you need to find somewhere to hide."

          "How will you find me?" he says, clutching Loki's sleeve. 

          "It will be impossible for me not to. Now hold on to your lunch."

          The small boy nods. "Okay."

          When Loki is certain Colin is outside, he opens the cell door. Once he steps inside, somethings breaks over his shoulders. He turns, seething, the small man falling under Loki's blade. 

          "Who's there?"

          He kneels next to a young teenager, her blonde hair matted with dirt. "Shh, there's nothing to fear." Loki says softly.

          "Who are you? What do you want?"

          "Loki. I'm getting you out of here." He slips the borrowed keys into the lock and sets her free. "With any luck, there will be a boy outside somewhere. If he sees you, his name is Colin. He'll help you hide."

          Loki takes a good look at her. The teen has tears streaking down her cheeks, but she nods. "You have to help the other boys."

          "I'm going. Do you know where they are?"

          "They were in the cells next to mine. Deeks was closer. They- they wouldn't stop hitting Peter, and I think Deeks.... Deeks is-."

          "What's your name?" Loki asks, his voice nearly a hiss as anxiety creeps over him.

          "Katie. You have to help. _Please_."

          "Keep your voice down. I'm getting you outside. Stay quiet, all right?"

          She nods again, fear stopping her speech. Loki teleports her outside and continues on. He pokes his head into the next cell. There is no child in the chains, and he doesn't see anything strange. Still, he checks out the cuffs. They don't seem to have been used at all. There's no smell of blood, no pieces of clothing. 

           _Deeks is a spy._

          Loki holds back a growl. Just as he's stepping out of the room, alarms blare throughout the tunnels. He reaches out to Stark with his mind.  _Have you found Peter yet?_

          He can feel Tony's shock at hearing his voice, but he informs him that he accidentally triggered the alarms.  _This place is about to blow._

          Loki rushes to the next cell, looking inside. No one is there. Anger sears through his veins as he realizes they must have taken Peter as far from his cell as they could after they found out who he was. He moves as quickly as he can, making his way down two more levels.

           _Tony, are you out yet?_

           _I'm not leaving without Peter!_

           _He's-_

          Loki is cut off as he hears a muffled cry. He sees someone pulling a barely struggling boy down a hallway. "Hey, stop! I helped you! I did what you asked, now let me go!"

          Loki has a feeling that Deeks is the boy. With a flick of his wrist, the man dragging him collapses and the boy turns. Loki growls.

          "Lead me to the boy you betrayed."

          The small child swallows and turns on his heel, running as fast as he can away from Loki. Loki, unfortunately, doesn't have time to chase him. As soon as he's sure that he's alone, he calls for Peter. As he's kicking in doors, the walls around him seem to take a deep breath of anticipation. 

           _It's coming, Stark. Get out now!_

          He enters a large room just as the ceiling begins to crack. There's a still form on the ground and Loki ducks his head as rubble starts to fall. He moves quickly and rolls him over.

          "Peter." Loki says quietly. 

          Loki informs Tony that he found Peter. He picks him up after finds that the boy won't rouse. A whine eminates from Peter's throat as he's moved and Loki notes that his left arm is damaged. He lets his magic drift over his slim form and finds that it's worse than that.

          "I am sorry for this." Loki says.

          He runs as fast as he can with Peter in his arms. The boy whimpers a couple of times, but he stays relatively silent otherwise.

         He only makes it up two out of four floors.

He hears a loud cracking sound and puts Peter down, shielding him with his own body. The ceiling comes down over his head and he holds it up for as long as he can. More rubble bears down on top of him and he lets his magic take some of the weight.

          Peter moans before coming around. "What's going on?"

          "We are in a collapsing tunnel system." Loki says, gritting his teeth. "The people who took you set off a bomb, and now we'll be lucky to get out alive."

          "I can help." Peter groans, trying to sit up.

          "Stop! You have a broken arm, three fractures, and contusions everywhere. Just. Stop."

          Peter heeds his words and sinks back to the floor, hissing. Loki drops to and knee and he lets more of his magic go, turning some of the layers to rubble to lessen the weight. 

          He leaps over the top of Peter just as he tries to get up and help again. He refuses to let him up as he structures his shield around them, no matter how feebly he pushes at his chest. The shield is just big enough for the two of them.

          Peter weeps quietly as his fear takes over and Loki tries to quiet him. The crashing of rubble makes it near impossible, but Peter grips the front of Loki's leather as the world crumbles around him. 

          When it's all settled, Loki is barely able to hold his shield up. He's sweaty and exhausted, but Peter is still alive. An arc of magic leaves him, carving a signal up through the remains of the tunnels. 

          "Just a while longer, all right, Peter?" 

          "Okay. Thanks Mr. Loki, sir."

          "Just Loki will do, little one."

          Loki would offer up his healing magic, but he doesn't have a lot left to spare. He's fading, and he's starting to think Peter knows it. Black curls at the edge of his vision.

          "Don't let go." Peter whispers. 

          "I won't." Loki says breathlessly. 

          Loki can feel the weight on his shoulders lessening and he supplies a small skiff of magic to turn more of it to dust. Something hits his shield, snapping him back to attention and he realizes that it must be Tony. His shield holds even after Loki can see the dark morning sky above his head. Tony tries to get him to let up, tapping on the outside.

          "It's okay, Mr. Loki, I mean, Loki. You can fall asleep now."

          Peter sounds relatively relieved, so Loki lets go. Peter is still under him, clutching at his back for dear life. Loki's heart thunders in his chest, but he lifts himself off the ground, muscles tremoring with strain. Peter is curled in his arms and Tony looks so relieved he might cry. Loki passes Peter to his arms and pulls himself out of the rubble.

          "You okay, Lokes?"

          Loki nods mutely, sweat dripping off his face. He sways, barely catching himself on what's left of a door. Tony watches him worriedly. 

          "How about you come back to base for a bit, Loki. We'll get you feeling better, then send you home, okay?"

          Loki hesitates before noddding. Before either of them can suggest helping him there, he disappears. 

          "You took care of the other kids, right?" Peter asks quietly.

          "Yeah, you guys were down there for a couple hours, and we got them on their way home."

          "What am I gonna tell May?"

          "Well, I didn't give her details on this, so you can fill her in."

          Peter swallows, curling on himself a bit as a wave of pain washes over him. Tony kisses the top of his head.

          "I'm glad you're all right, kiddo."

          "Me too. That sucked."

          Tony barks out a laugh. "Yeah, I'll bet it did. Come on, kid. Let's go home."


End file.
